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Muslims unanimously affirm the testimony that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. They affirm that this is true, holding it with firm conviction and certainty, without any doubt. Whatever a Muslim knows and firmly believes, he holds with certainty, even though Allah is able to change it. A Muslim is certain of what he sees and hears, and certain that Allah is able to do whatever He wills. When a Muslim says, “I am certain of that,” he does not mean that Allah is unable to change it. Rather, anyone who says that Allah is unable to do such things as cause His creatures to die and raise them alive from their graves, move the mountains, or replace the earth with another earth must be called upon to repent; if he does not repent, he is put to death.

Those among the followers of Abū Amr ibn Marzūq who dislike the expression “certainty” introduced this objection themselves. The shaykh himself did not object to this expression. The origin of the matter, however, was their practice of qualifying their profession of faith, as has been reported from the early generations. One of them would say, “I am a believer, if Allah wills.” They would likewise qualify statements concerning righteous deeds, saying, “I have prayed, if Allah wills.”

The early generations intended this qualification for one of several reasons. A person might not be certain that he had fulfilled the obligation as Allah and His Messenger had commanded, and thus be unsure whether Allah would accept it, so he would add the qualification. Alternatively, he might be uncertain about his ultimate outcome. Or he might add it because all things occur only by Allah’s will, as in the words of Allah Most High:

“You will surely enter